Thursday, May 29, 2008

OKAY, O'BOY...

All right, all right, y'all know what I'm going to talk about today! If you took my advice and tuned in to Wednesday night's SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, then you saw 25 yr old. Brett Banford from Salt Lake City, Utah audition for the show.

Brett has Down Syndrome, and stated he was there to show people, that people with disabilities can do whatever they want to. He's a Special Olympician and they showed a clip of him running with the S.O. Torch. He performed a wonderful hip hop routine with some martial arts thrown in, and told Cat Deeley, the host of the show, that he loved her.

If you go to MY FOX UTAH and click on Local News on the left hand side, then hit page two at the bottom, you'll find a video of Brett's performance and his interview at his home. I was so proud to see the local news station feature him and his family on the 11 p.m. news last night.

Brett's mom deserves an ovation herself. She's raised a fine young man, with a positive attitude and loving spirit. Even though Brett knew he wouldn't get on the show, he tried anyway to bring attention to the fact that people with "dis"abilities aren't really "dis"abled.

My arm is going to be "dis"abled from now on. It's going to affect my typing and writing and my quality of life. But when I look at my two beautiful children who have Down Syndrome, and at Brett who's so full of life, I know that my arm is the least of my problems.

I encourage you to visit MY FOX UTAH tonight if possible, to see the clip of Brett. By tomorrow, it'll likely be off the website, but you never know.

Brett Banford, you're my hero. My kids loved watching you dance, and I had tears in my eyes as I watched you perform. He's a fantastic ambassador to the world. Dance on, Brett!